so how many of you would like to own a
handmade Persian carpet Keeley’s oh
that’s very good
it’s relieved to know that most of the
room really is interested in the subject
so my name is Mustafa Hussain I was born
in Kabul Afghanistan in 77 when I was
about two years old Russian invasion
happened in my country as a result we
emigrated to northeast of Iran where we
spent about nine years of our life as a
refugee most of the time in the
afternoons after school I was weaving
carpet with the refugee kids and the
other tribal weavers until 80 89 where
my father decided that it’s a time for
us to move so he brought us with to
Kuwait unfortunately just a few months
after we arrived there was another
invasion here and we had lost everything
once again this time me and my brother
Ali by now 13 me and Ali 15 started
helping my dad on selling carpets for
the next following years so until 1997
which was a turning point in my life
this year I had finished school and was
getting ready to go to UTS for
university to continue my education and
career in Sydney Australia in one hand
everyone I knew had advised me to take
this step on the other hand I had love
of carpets in my heart the years of
weaving the carpet with the refugee kids
and the years of selling them in Kuwait
had done his job on me and made me fall
in love with these beautiful pieces of
art I just love going back to thrive and
watching them being made the crazy that
this may sound I even loved the sound of
the brush heading on a pile especially
when it came to the Turkmen tribe where
I was told that when there are more than
a weaver in a loom they make sure they
never had the brush at
same time trying from them to create the
sound of the horse steps for the
turkmens horse symbolizes the nobility
and honor and by hitting them that way
they trying to show us their love and
appreciation to their handmade pieces of
carpets by them and their weavers a
friend of mine keep telling me saying
can you make during your talk the sound
of the horse steps
I kept thinking late last night it came
in my mind I said well what the heck I
will do it for him this is for you Ben
so when there are two weavers in a loom
normally the sound become can you hear
it
so when they hit them if it’s one weaver
you’re gonna have a single head but when
there are two it literally makes that
this rhythm is the sound that they are
trying to achieve in a Turkmen tribe for
us to see and hear and believe and trust
them and love there are items I also
loved watching them die the wall from
pomegranate skins madder root and ego
leaves excuse me what I was intrigued
the most though was the time that took
for these beautiful piece of art to be
usually months sometimes years takes for
one piece of a carpet to be made as a
teenager I was wondering what motivated
someone to spend such a long time on a
loom and never get bored or tired of it
so finally years after that I got my
answer when I started weaving a carpet
I had spent something about five to six
hours a day on it for a six-month my
speed of stitch was about 25 to 30
second per stage it gave me something to
look forward every day although
sometimes when my friends were visiting
me and watching me be busy weaving they
were asking how much do you think you’re
gonna get for this as if I’m making it
for money and the only answer they ever
heard were they got you can’t afford it
no one can
this is for my daughter no matter how
long it takes and no matter how
difficult it be I’m gonna have to finish
it and I finally did when I finished it
I learned something I thought that when
it comes to the art and the artists time
and money become meaningless and the
only thing that matters it’s the love
the passion and the reasons that the
artists they have for their own to weave
or produce any kind of art for the rest
people of the people might be
meaningless for them it makes sense the
same way that my daughter’s carpet made
sense for me not more five not for my
friends back in 97 I knew I couldn’t
give up this passion of wine so I
decided to stay and start going back to
the tribes and looking for carpets it
wasn’t an easy decision I knew I
couldn’t save carpet industry but I
might as well try to save it in the
villages that my family was connected to
so me and a few of my friends came up
with a strategy
to help the carpet weaving industry in
villages by provide education and
medical care at the villages my role was
to teach the buyers about the tribal
carpets and their history through the
hand-woven pieces of them and the
stories that they had put in it
stories like my daughter’s carpet tree
of life every bit of that carpet had
meant something for me and for my
daughter she had picked a design a tree
from her school yearbook and asked me to
weave her what I told her was that okay
let’s add to it some extra designs and I
made it into a tree of life a family
tree of the Prophet himself therefore I
had to use a green color for the tree
the color of Islam then I wanted to tell
my daughter how much I love her so for
the field of a carpet I was using red
red symbolizes love passion and warmth
at the same time I wanted to tell her
that she is the source of life for me
but thank you now we have it here as the
unfortunately picture doesn’t make so
much justice the green is really Islamic
green so the field is a red color to
tell me how much to tell her how much I
love her then I make the arch part from
the blue color blue symbolizes water
water is a source of life and I wanted
to tell her that she is given in life to
me and her mom by her coming
she’s the God’s greatest gift for us the
same way that the water gives a life to
a dry land her calming was that way for
us I designed some gold and white colors
in it
wishes of me for her to have a great
future its ambling
light so wishes of me for her to have a
great future and a bright life then I
put some black color outlines all over
the black color outline symbolizes the
difficulties and the problems in life
that may occur and me telling her there
that she can get over with by the love
of her family and her faith and I can
continue about this carpet so we’ll
leave it there many other tribals also
have their meanings here since we have a
designer a weaver of a piece I can tell
you the weaving of the carpet had
meaning for us the technique we put in
the size of the carpet the type of
stitch I used in it the fabrics
everything every detail of that tiny
bitty piece had meaning for us I just
described a little of coloring in here
in the tribals though there are some
very famous history and stories such as
Noah’s Ark a Garden of Eden hunting
scene Tree of Life there are some
animals that have symbolic meaning to
them also for example we talked about
horse for the Turkmen tribe they are
lions symbol of power peacock and deer
symbol of beauty camel symbol of
patience there are spiritual motif to
period protection evil spirit protection
such as an evil eye ram horn a hand
they’re all over the carpet it’s
designed by the weavers to find out by
us insha’Allah
now these stories and the stories of a
carpet in other word gave love make the
buyers more love to their car to their
carpets and preciate into the tribes
that the piece was coming from soon I
found out that how many people would
like to buy a Persian carpet like this
movement unfortunately how little they
get to know when they actually went to
buy one let’s ask that question again
how many of you know that there was a
stories in the carpets that you owned or
how many of you already know this story
please raise your hand – that’s not bad
one at least knows the story that’s
really good thank you
so one out of a hundred or more hundred
people we talking about knows the story
I wanted to change that in my customers
so and I wanted to help village through
so my plan was very simple more
education for the customers created more
demand and love and that lead to
purchase and a purchase means an income
for the families that I’m aiming for and
the income gives them money for their
kids education medical care and any
other thing that they need so I started
in my customers first and friends then I
start thinking what else can I do for
them I start giving
thinking and decided to give Ana public
seminars or lectures I did it in for
first time in sadhu house in 99 then I
followed the two embassies schools come
private companies in the last couple
years I’ve added something new to the
educational efforts what I call hands-on
loom so we have a carpet weaving course
held the goal is to weave seven to ten
thousand stitches per a period of infor
session in three months
about 90 people have joined and attended
the course so far and for your
information last and five have finished
that number most of them when they reach
to the first few hundreds came back to
me and start complaining
oh-hoh saying this is very difficult all
her saying we could forget where to put
the stitches where to put the colors and
the only thing I was doing I was just
keep listening to them and which to the
end I was saying okay let me just
describe you a carpet just ignore all of
that and listen to me they were saying
okay well for example this one closest
one to me I was pointing at and so I
brought one here I was pointing at and
saying well this one is made by a single
lady in a tribe somewhere we were
between Afghanistan and Iran North East
Iran I’m expecting Turkmen tribe she’s
rich she’s young and she made it for the
door cover the design she uses in it she
has put some ram horns snakes evil eyes
all over the carpet protection motifs
this is the meaning of the symbols on
the other hand she’s putting here 70 to
80 stitches per square centimeter this
rug is two square meters that equals to
one point five million stitches in this
rug and I was expecting how many for my
weavers seven to ten thousand this lady
has put ten to fifteen thousand stitch a
day she’s using memory I’m giving them a
blueprint a loom a tool with all that
they came back to me and complaining and
that I was already gone to get my point
for them I wanted my customers to get to
the point to feel one day of that
weavers
to get to see how difficult is to weave
these appreciate them more and it had
happened they had faced
that difficulty so I had the gold now
was time to pass them that extra
information about the carpet so I’m
hoping the same way that these tribes
and villages that we lived in in
childhood helped me during those years
and a carpet business had helped me so
far surviving twice in my life it’s my
time to pay back to them and the ladies
like her
unfortunately video is upside down and
it’s taken two months ago from one of
the weavers mobile phone and sent to me
they were so excited about this that
they’re gonna be told about talked about
she is second-generation weaver with us
she had gone to school and got married
and had the job waiting for her now she
has two beautiful kids and she’s weaving
and looking at her for me it makes me
feel like I did part of what I owed them
giving back to and if you feel that this
culture and tribe and the style of the
carpets deserves to be protected and
saved and preserved for the next
generation let’s put hand together and
try to help them so we’re going to have
some pieces left for the next generation
to enjoy a bit of it inshallah and thank
you [Applause]
handmade Persian carpet Keeley’s oh
that’s very good
it’s relieved to know that most of the
room really is interested in the subject
so my name is Mustafa Hussain I was born
in Kabul Afghanistan in 77 when I was
about two years old Russian invasion
happened in my country as a result we
emigrated to northeast of Iran where we
spent about nine years of our life as a
refugee most of the time in the
afternoons after school I was weaving
carpet with the refugee kids and the
other tribal weavers until 80 89 where
my father decided that it’s a time for
us to move so he brought us with to
Kuwait unfortunately just a few months
after we arrived there was another
invasion here and we had lost everything
once again this time me and my brother
Ali by now 13 me and Ali 15 started
helping my dad on selling carpets for
the next following years so until 1997
which was a turning point in my life
this year I had finished school and was
getting ready to go to UTS for
university to continue my education and
career in Sydney Australia in one hand
everyone I knew had advised me to take
this step on the other hand I had love
of carpets in my heart the years of
weaving the carpet with the refugee kids
and the years of selling them in Kuwait
had done his job on me and made me fall
in love with these beautiful pieces of
art I just love going back to thrive and
watching them being made the crazy that
this may sound I even loved the sound of
the brush heading on a pile especially
when it came to the Turkmen tribe where
I was told that when there are more than
a weaver in a loom they make sure they
never had the brush at
same time trying from them to create the
sound of the horse steps for the
turkmens horse symbolizes the nobility
and honor and by hitting them that way
they trying to show us their love and
appreciation to their handmade pieces of
carpets by them and their weavers a
friend of mine keep telling me saying
can you make during your talk the sound
of the horse steps
I kept thinking late last night it came
in my mind I said well what the heck I
will do it for him this is for you Ben
so when there are two weavers in a loom
normally the sound become can you hear
it
so when they hit them if it’s one weaver
you’re gonna have a single head but when
there are two it literally makes that
this rhythm is the sound that they are
trying to achieve in a Turkmen tribe for
us to see and hear and believe and trust
them and love there are items I also
loved watching them die the wall from
pomegranate skins madder root and ego
leaves excuse me what I was intrigued
the most though was the time that took
for these beautiful piece of art to be
usually months sometimes years takes for
one piece of a carpet to be made as a
teenager I was wondering what motivated
someone to spend such a long time on a
loom and never get bored or tired of it
so finally years after that I got my
answer when I started weaving a carpet
I had spent something about five to six
hours a day on it for a six-month my
speed of stitch was about 25 to 30
second per stage it gave me something to
look forward every day although
sometimes when my friends were visiting
me and watching me be busy weaving they
were asking how much do you think you’re
gonna get for this as if I’m making it
for money and the only answer they ever
heard were they got you can’t afford it
no one can
this is for my daughter no matter how
long it takes and no matter how
difficult it be I’m gonna have to finish
it and I finally did when I finished it
I learned something I thought that when
it comes to the art and the artists time
and money become meaningless and the
only thing that matters it’s the love
the passion and the reasons that the
artists they have for their own to weave
or produce any kind of art for the rest
people of the people might be
meaningless for them it makes sense the
same way that my daughter’s carpet made
sense for me not more five not for my
friends back in 97 I knew I couldn’t
give up this passion of wine so I
decided to stay and start going back to
the tribes and looking for carpets it
wasn’t an easy decision I knew I
couldn’t save carpet industry but I
might as well try to save it in the
villages that my family was connected to
so me and a few of my friends came up
with a strategy
to help the carpet weaving industry in
villages by provide education and
medical care at the villages my role was
to teach the buyers about the tribal
carpets and their history through the
hand-woven pieces of them and the
stories that they had put in it
stories like my daughter’s carpet tree
of life every bit of that carpet had
meant something for me and for my
daughter she had picked a design a tree
from her school yearbook and asked me to
weave her what I told her was that okay
let’s add to it some extra designs and I
made it into a tree of life a family
tree of the Prophet himself therefore I
had to use a green color for the tree
the color of Islam then I wanted to tell
my daughter how much I love her so for
the field of a carpet I was using red
red symbolizes love passion and warmth
at the same time I wanted to tell her
that she is the source of life for me
but thank you now we have it here as the
unfortunately picture doesn’t make so
much justice the green is really Islamic
green so the field is a red color to
tell me how much to tell her how much I
love her then I make the arch part from
the blue color blue symbolizes water
water is a source of life and I wanted
to tell her that she is given in life to
me and her mom by her coming
she’s the God’s greatest gift for us the
same way that the water gives a life to
a dry land her calming was that way for
us I designed some gold and white colors
in it
wishes of me for her to have a great
future its ambling
light so wishes of me for her to have a
great future and a bright life then I
put some black color outlines all over
the black color outline symbolizes the
difficulties and the problems in life
that may occur and me telling her there
that she can get over with by the love
of her family and her faith and I can
continue about this carpet so we’ll
leave it there many other tribals also
have their meanings here since we have a
designer a weaver of a piece I can tell
you the weaving of the carpet had
meaning for us the technique we put in
the size of the carpet the type of
stitch I used in it the fabrics
everything every detail of that tiny
bitty piece had meaning for us I just
described a little of coloring in here
in the tribals though there are some
very famous history and stories such as
Noah’s Ark a Garden of Eden hunting
scene Tree of Life there are some
animals that have symbolic meaning to
them also for example we talked about
horse for the Turkmen tribe they are
lions symbol of power peacock and deer
symbol of beauty camel symbol of
patience there are spiritual motif to
period protection evil spirit protection
such as an evil eye ram horn a hand
they’re all over the carpet it’s
designed by the weavers to find out by
us insha’Allah
now these stories and the stories of a
carpet in other word gave love make the
buyers more love to their car to their
carpets and preciate into the tribes
that the piece was coming from soon I
found out that how many people would
like to buy a Persian carpet like this
movement unfortunately how little they
get to know when they actually went to
buy one let’s ask that question again
how many of you know that there was a
stories in the carpets that you owned or
how many of you already know this story
please raise your hand – that’s not bad
one at least knows the story that’s
really good thank you
so one out of a hundred or more hundred
people we talking about knows the story
I wanted to change that in my customers
so and I wanted to help village through
so my plan was very simple more
education for the customers created more
demand and love and that lead to
purchase and a purchase means an income
for the families that I’m aiming for and
the income gives them money for their
kids education medical care and any
other thing that they need so I started
in my customers first and friends then I
start thinking what else can I do for
them I start giving
thinking and decided to give Ana public
seminars or lectures I did it in for
first time in sadhu house in 99 then I
followed the two embassies schools come
private companies in the last couple
years I’ve added something new to the
educational efforts what I call hands-on
loom so we have a carpet weaving course
held the goal is to weave seven to ten
thousand stitches per a period of infor
session in three months
about 90 people have joined and attended
the course so far and for your
information last and five have finished
that number most of them when they reach
to the first few hundreds came back to
me and start complaining
oh-hoh saying this is very difficult all
her saying we could forget where to put
the stitches where to put the colors and
the only thing I was doing I was just
keep listening to them and which to the
end I was saying okay let me just
describe you a carpet just ignore all of
that and listen to me they were saying
okay well for example this one closest
one to me I was pointing at and so I
brought one here I was pointing at and
saying well this one is made by a single
lady in a tribe somewhere we were
between Afghanistan and Iran North East
Iran I’m expecting Turkmen tribe she’s
rich she’s young and she made it for the
door cover the design she uses in it she
has put some ram horns snakes evil eyes
all over the carpet protection motifs
this is the meaning of the symbols on
the other hand she’s putting here 70 to
80 stitches per square centimeter this
rug is two square meters that equals to
one point five million stitches in this
rug and I was expecting how many for my
weavers seven to ten thousand this lady
has put ten to fifteen thousand stitch a
day she’s using memory I’m giving them a
blueprint a loom a tool with all that
they came back to me and complaining and
that I was already gone to get my point
for them I wanted my customers to get to
the point to feel one day of that
weavers
to get to see how difficult is to weave
these appreciate them more and it had
happened they had faced
that difficulty so I had the gold now
was time to pass them that extra
information about the carpet so I’m
hoping the same way that these tribes
and villages that we lived in in
childhood helped me during those years
and a carpet business had helped me so
far surviving twice in my life it’s my
time to pay back to them and the ladies
like her
unfortunately video is upside down and
it’s taken two months ago from one of
the weavers mobile phone and sent to me
they were so excited about this that
they’re gonna be told about talked about
she is second-generation weaver with us
she had gone to school and got married
and had the job waiting for her now she
has two beautiful kids and she’s weaving
and looking at her for me it makes me
feel like I did part of what I owed them
giving back to and if you feel that this
culture and tribe and the style of the
carpets deserves to be protected and
saved and preserved for the next
generation let’s put hand together and
try to help them so we’re going to have
some pieces left for the next generation
to enjoy a bit of it inshallah and thank
you [Applause]
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